SBO+: I think Yukiko Nishimura is a wonderfully gifted composer currently writing for bands and orchestras with many superb pieces in grade 4 and below. Yukiko is published by Excelcia Music Publishing, and I asked my good friend Anne Sobel at Excelcia to chat with her. Enjoy!
AS: Will you share a bit about your background in music?
YN: My first involvement with music was at the Yamaha Music School at age five. There, I learned the basics of music, including some basic composition theory. At that time, I wanted to be a pianist, but what I learned at Yamaha blossomed in my later years. I went on to music high school as a composition major and then continued to university, also as a composition major. After graduating from university in Tokyo, I took lessons from Dr. Alfred Reed at the University of Miami. After two years in Miami, I studied composition under Dr. Richard Danielpour at Manhattan School of Music. I had been working on commissioned pieces since my student days. My involvement in the educational music field came later.
AS: Can you tell us how you first got started composing music for bands and orchestras?
YN: I wrote my first wind band piece when I was a student at Manhattan School of Music, and it started with applying to a competition in Italy. I was at that time a student of Dr. Alfred Reed, but prior to then, I had not been interested in writing for band. My composition teacher, Dr. Danielpour, encouraged me to study Stravinsky’s “Symphonies of Wind Instruments.” Of course, I also studied a lot of Dr. Reed’s band work.
While writing wind band pieces came later, I had been consistently writing music for string ensembles since I was in music high school. I started writing string orchestra pieces for the educational field later. I studied violin in high school and college. I fell in love with the sound of strings then and dreamed of composing many pieces someday. After publishing my band pieces in the US, I got a chance to publish string orchestra pieces as well, and that is how I got to where I am today.
AS: What is your writing routine? Is there anything special you like to do to prepare to write music?
YN: I leave some fragments on a blank music sheet every day, like writing a diary. I hear some phrases from somewhere in the air. It’s not for any particular reason. I note down the sounds that come to me. Sometimes, I develop and use it for new pieces, but I use only some. Writing down the image may be like an exercise for my brain. I always think of a title before I start writing a piece. It’s easier to grasp the picture that way. To decide on a title for each piece, I need stimulation from reading books, watching movies, listening to music, going to museums, browsing design books, going somewhere calm, and putting myself in nature so it’s easier to put myself in the exact space for the piece I am going to write. Once the title is decided, the theme of color I want to use will also be settled. It’s a very important process for me.
AS: You have written wonderful music for all grade levels. Regarding your writing for younger grade levels, what is your favorite thing about writing for musicians who are still learning and developing their sound?
YN: I try to devise things on the score so students can enjoy playing. It’s important for students to know where they are at any time on the score. What I care about most is that the score be clear enough. The score is like a map that leads the players to the inside of the music. I often put counter melodies to the main melody to deepen the music structure. This is my favorite thing to do on the score. So, the students need to hear other parts while they play. Listening to other parts is hard sometimes but practically useful for the students to understand the music and develop their playing. It’s like a conversation between the parts.
AS: What do you find are the greatest challenges writing for grades 1 and 2 in particular?
YN: It’s challenging writing for the lower grades. I am always in trouble with the limited ranges and fingerings for string players. It seems there is no freedom. But I try to structure the pieces musically. To focus on making it musical is an essential aspect for me.
AS: In your opinion, what are key characteristics that music aimed at young or beginning musicians should have?
YN: If I knew this, it wouldn’t be a problem… (laughs). I don’t really think about students’ levels when I compose. I believe even a piece with a simple structure must be “properly musical.” I emphasize how to make people feel what I think is beautiful.
AS: If you could tell every band or orchestra director in the world one helpful thing, what would it be?
YN: I cannot say such an arrogant thing because I am not an educator. I am truly a music maker. I tend to think of everything in an artistic way. So, the only thing I can say is, “Let’s have fun playing music, share the fun, and music will save the world,” that kind of thing. Not very practical, is it?
AS: Would you share with us a music educator or mentor who had a particular impact on your life?
YN: There are two legends in my life: my former composition teacher, Atsutada Otaka, a well-known Japanese composer, and Dr. Alfred Reed. I admire them because they were skilled in harmonic theory. They also taught students to motivate themselves through positive thinking. After the lessons with these two legends, I felt like I wanted to write a piece right away! They were so motivating.
AS: SBO+ Editor-in-Chief Tom Palmatier told me, “I tell colleagues I think Yukiko Nishimura is the next Frank Erickson, someone who unapologetically writes beautiful music.” Who would you list among your musical influences?”
YN: I’m so honored to hear that he said that. French composers greatly influence me. This is largely due to the influence of my mentor, Mr. Otaka. I especially love the piano works of Faure, Franck, and Poulenc. Of course, I love Debussy’s and Ravel’s music as well. I am also influenced by Ryuichi Sakamoto, a world-famous musician who was also influenced by Debussy. In addition, I have been influenced a lot by modern jazz. I learned a lot from Miles Davis’ modal harmony, and I am fascinated by Gershwin’s and Bernstein’s music.
AS: Apart from other composers and musicians, what else inspires your music?
YN: The universe and nature. I especially find inspiration from the moon. The universe stirs my motivation. I don’t know why… Thanks to that, many of my titles include the moon. The other is, of course, “color.” When I compose, I write with colors in mind. I express how colors mix and the gradations that change in my music. I write music like painting.
AS: If you could speak to any composer who ever lived and ask them a question, who would you choose and what would you ask them?
YN: Definitely Rachmaninoff! I admire his long melody lines based on the continuous unsolved harmony progression. I’d like to hear the secret to weaving harmonies horizontally in such a long phrase.
AS: Are there any words of advice that you would like to share with young or aspiring composers?
YN: When writing music, it is challenging to start a note from nothing. Just like in life, you can only continue if you take your first step. Of course, you can practice it by imitating others for a while, but I suggest you find your own color bit by bit and express yourself in your own way.
AS: How do you see your composing progressing into the future?
YN: I can’t imagine how it will be, but I dream of working on a movie soundtrack while keeping my current approach to music. The music I write cherishes color, while at the same time vibrates the air, floats through space, reaches people’s ears along with the images, and shakes their hearts. I would be happy if I could get a chance to work on a movie soundtrack. As I get older, my music becomes more refined, and the number of notes I hear might decrease. Right now, I can still hear a bunch of sounds in my head, but maybe I’ll only hear the sounds that are truly necessary later in my life. I’m unsure yet, but I keep listening to my pure imagination.
Yukiko Nishimura, composer/pianist, was born in Japan. She graduated from Tokyo University of Arts in 1990. In 1991, she began private study with Dr. Alfred Reed at the University of Miami and in 1993 she continued her studies with Dr. Richard Danielpour at Manhattan School of Music. Among her honors, are the special mention at the 15th and 26th International Competition for Original Composition for band in Corciano, Italy and the 6th Aoyama Award. In 2005, the commissioned work for the first silent film in the United States Edison’s 1910 Frankenstein for string quartet was premiered in Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania by Covington String Quartet. The music for the silent film The Water Magician, directed by Kenji Mizoguchi in 1933, was premiered in 2007. In 2010, a theatrical work Fantasy of Kenji based on the stories by Kenji Miyazawa was premiered.
Recently she has been nominated for the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 12th Hollywood Music in Media Award in the category of contemporary classical.
Nishimura has received numerous commissions and has composed for piano, marimba, percussion, chamber music, band music, music for string instruments and orchestra. She now resides in Los Angeles, CA.
YukikoNishimura.com
